Lakers’ Scott Close to $2-Million Move to Greece

Free agent Byron Scott Tuesday night was close to accepting an offer that would see him leave not only the Lakers but the United States--courtesy of a two-year contract from Panathinaikos AC in Athens, Greece believed to be worth nearly $2 million.

A fan favorite at the Forum last season and a major contributor as a reserve shooting guard, Scott had hoped to play one more season and then retire a Laker. But then he got the offer from Greece, difficult to ignore anyway but especially so since a salary cap technicality limits the Laker offer for 1997-98 to $326,750.

An announcement could come within days, perhaps by tonight.

While easy to accept from a financial standpoint, the move would be a difficult one in that Scott is so closely tied to Los Angeles that he lamented the possibility of living in another NBA city next season. And now he’s strongly considering another continent and, in basketball terms, another world, one where angry fans throw heated coins at players.

Scott is 36, but averaged 18.2 minutes in his 79 appearances last season, missing only two games because of a bruised knee and one because of flu. He led all reserves in scoring 19 times and shot 38.8% on three-pointers.

Also, the Lakers announced they have picked up the option on reserve forward Corie Blount, a move that had been long expected. Blount probably earned the move, worth a 1997-98 contract of $1.43 million, with his play in the second half of the past season. That included the best stretch of his four-year career--six double-doubles in 12 games as part of averaging 9.1 rebounds and 8.4 points in 16 consecutive starts at power forward.